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| Walking the path |
It’s been quite the semester I have to say! I’m glad to soon be taking a break and gathering strength for semester two. Even though I come to the table with some education as well as numerous years of front line work experience in the Aboriginal health field, as a first generation student, the learning curve for being a university student has been a steep one to say the least. Upon entering the social work program I had expectations of what the student body would be like. Three and a half months later, sitting here reviewing the semester in my mind, I was presented with many challenges from fellow students. I see these as opportunities to learn, grow stronger and gain a new understanding. So many new ideas and social issues were taught over the span of the course. I could write pages on what I learned in that respect, but my biggest learning came from outside of the course content.
Personally I witnessed some derogatory comments amongst students that were unsettling and could really be labeled as racist. However, I could see that over the course of the semester attitudes shifted for many students, in a more positive direction. That shift in thinking is paramount because it is important to understand that we don’t all arrive at the same place with the same teachings and understanding. For those that haven’t had a paradigm shift in their thinking, you never know, it may happen down the line yet. The fact that there is room to adjust our belief systems and change our opinions is a positive notion. I have done my share of pushing the limits in order to challenge people’s thinking and I have appreciated the challenges to my thinking as well. It’s ok to be different. It’s ok to disagree and it’s ok to challenge each other so that we move forward towards a better place. If we don’t grow, we become stagnant. The biggest test is how do we negotiate all this learning, challenging, debating, and growing and keep ourselves and others intact? Respect. Showing respect for ourselves and others. By not being so quick to judge but to think that there may be another angle to look at situations from. We don’t all have the same lens or perspective but we can take the time to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. By comprehending that we most often don’t have all the information – we can understand that there is so much more to each of us below the surface. We all have room to grow but we also all carry gifts that we can utilize for the good.
Speaking of gifts, one in particular that the group I belonged to was able to utilize was an Anishinaabe healing approach. Our group experienced some challenges working together to accomplish our tasks. I am happy to say that in order to move past this hurdle we participated in a healing circle that helped to clear the air, refocus us, and created some positive momentum for the group. For those that had not participated in healing or sharing circles before, they expressed gratitude for being exposed to such a gentle way of healing and for the opportunity of the circle to be a part of their learning experience during this course. The good energy created and shared amongst the group was one of the most memorable moments but by far, for me the ultimate experience was when we were able to bring seven voices together to sing a traditional women’s song. That my friends, is empowerment. The power of bringing voices together to create something positive and much bigger than any one of us could create on our own.
So, without a doubt, after reflecting on my learning in this course, the most valuable pieces of learning did not come from a textbook or lecture. These are the pieces that I will take with me on my path to becoming a social worker.
A'ho! Miigwetch. Baa Maa Pii.Lisa
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